When "Grand Theft Auto III" debuted in 2001, I remember sitting enthralled for days, experiencing the new concept of an open-world game.

Objectively, the mission structure was uneven, the driving controls too loose and the ability to aim your guns almost nonexistent. Yet, the structure was so revolutionary, gamers loved every minute of it.

Over the past dozen years plenty of imitators -- some good, some terrible -- have copied the "GTA" formula. So much so you wouldn't think any new open-world game could have the impact "GTA III" did all those years ago. You would be wrong.

"Grant Theft Auto V" exists on another level, one formerly reserved for bands named The Beatles and films such as "Citizen Kane." In fact, it's so good I anticipate changing my end-of-year awards so the highest honor is "Best Game that Isn't Grand Theft Auto V."

In open-world games, story usually gets the short shrift. It's very difficult to maintain a strong narrative while allowing players to run about willy-nilly, doing whatever they choose.

Somehow, "GTA V" manages to maintain a strong story despite giving players dozens of distractions -- everything from playing tennis to towing cars to visiting strip clubs -- that can pull them away from the story for hours at a time.

And they do it with not one but three characters.

That's right: For the first time in the series, there are multiple characters to play, and where most games would have you choose and play through each protagonist's arc separately, here you will switch between the three throughout the game. Sometimes in mid-mission.

The characters are as diverse as the game's activities. Michael is a middle-aged, retired bank robber, languishing under witness protection, while Franklin is a low-rent hoodlum looking for a way to score bigger.

And Trevor, well, let's just say Trevor isn't quite stable.

Together these three will plan and execute some massive heists in the interest of making some serious bank.

The multi-part heists act as anchors, giving the game a series of action-packed mini-climaxes, helping to maintain the game's pacing.

The rest of the game is split into missions, side missions, diversions, random events, races, collecting scattered stuff and exploring the massive city of Los Santos.

The biggest complaint I can level against the game comes from having too much to do. Sometimes it's difficult to choose between the plethora of side missions and advancing the main story. It's impossible to avoid the pervasive fear that no matter what you do, you're going to miss something good.

It helps that all the game's controls have been refined. Literally everything -- shooting, driving, sneaking, taking cover, fistfighting -- has been refined to the point where players can no longer blame wonky controls for failing missions. Oh, you'll still fail missions. It just won't be the game's fault.

You will find an occasional graphic glitch, with scenery popping up every now and then, or perhaps a bit of slowdown during the most hectic moments, but these are minor. Given how much the game is processing at any one time, it's honestly a miracle this isn't worse.

Still, even though "GTA V" amazes, it is important to pay attention to the game's rating.

Some games carry an "M" rating for any number of reasons, and many parents don't have an issue with their underage offspring playing. That's their choice.

However, it is my sincere recommendation that minors do not play this game. Not because "GTA V" is excessively violent, filled with profanities and sexuality -- those things can be experienced in many formats.

The problem is the story. "GTA V" is a satire, skewering multiple American attitudes in the post-9/11, post-economic meltdown world. Most young players won't get it, and if you don't get it, all the adult circumstances become gratuitous.

Without a grasp of the satire, "GTA V" is a monstrous game that could be glorified for the wrong reasons.

"Grand Theft Auto V" should be acknowledged for what it is: a triumphant mix of gameplay and storytelling in the same vein as "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs." You will be hard-pressed to find its equal this -- or any -- year.

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